Knowledge Lies in Dreams
by MerryxMaking
Summary: Saix's life starts to crumble when he frequently has dreams of what may be to come. But are they just his overactive imagination or can he really forsee the future? Xemsai, AkuRoku, MarVex and XigDem. Rated T for language, violence and religious themes.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Life Left Behind

Saïx was never one to lose faith. He was never one to doubt any idea until it had been proven wrong, even the ridiculous could somehow make sense to him. That was why many people would tell him their ideas and problems. Never would Saïx laugh and dismiss anything anyone else had to say. Even when his hyper-active best friend Demyx would burst out with some crazed theory that would cause all their other friends to giggle at its stupidity, Saïx would always consider the possibilities. Yet all the while, he could get someone to believe that their problems were not big enough to bother them. Divorce, illness, fears, lies…everything. Saïx had heard it all a thousand times over, and rarely failed to make someone feel better. He also made the effort with school, getting A's in his Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History, English, Sociology, Spanish and Critical Thinking GCSEs and an A in Maths.

That was how it was for Saïx. He had it all; friends that would never leave him, intelligence, looks. Everyone imagined the guy leading a worldwide business, making triple the amount of money that any other person ever could. They saw him drawing diamond encrusted fists from solid gold gloves. They could never imagine someone like Roxas or Demyx becoming that. Despite them having the same mental capacity as Saïx, neither of them could stand their own ground. Saïx would fight to the death (literally) for his rights. Yes, the blue haired boy was destined to go far in life. And yet, no one envied him enough to truly hate him (that was partly because Saïx was able to hospitalize the one boy who did, so no one dared question him).

That was the life. He had so much planned out for the future. And those plans only grew when he was accepted into Cambridge University. He was going to study English Creative Writing and Psychology, maybe Spanish if he could fit it in. He had so much to look forward to.

In a sense, that is why a small part of him always expected something to go horribly wrong. But he was always able to find some way of suppressing these thoughts so that he could press on with his life. After all, he only had one of those. Nevertheless, the small idea of his life taking a different route to that which he always wanted always crept into his mind. That was how it used to be. That was the life that he left behind when the dreams started coming.

The life he left behind when he realised his powers.

--

AN: Don't shoot me! First fanfic here and I just cannot start stories . Seriously, it'll get better from here. And for future reference, the family idea which will come in very soon is the result of my friend and I having too many energy drinks at 10:30 at night. Please excuse it.

Umm…hugs for all those who comment please? And don't be too mean or Dem-Dem will cry D:


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I know Author's Notes usually come at the end, but I need to explain some stuff to make sure you understand pretty much the rest of the story. Vexen and Marluxia are Zexion and Roxas' parents, Xaldin is Demyx's dad and Larxene is Saïx and Axel's mum. I know it's messed up. Same goes though, comment please and be nice! Or (for lack of a better threat) Dem-Dem will cry! :O

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Saïx sighed softly as he stooped outside the gate to the London Zoo. He had somehow gotten a job there an animal psychologist, which was actually a very busy job. He went around with Xigbar (who tamed the animals, so the two sort of worked together) to check the animals were safe for people to visit. If Xigbar could not tame an animal, he called on Vexen (the one vet there he actually liked) to see what was wrong. If Vexen could not find anything wrong, he went to Saïx. And Saïx had to know what was wrong.

"Morning Grumpy. Here, take this" Saïx smiled in gratitude as his blonde companion handed him a cup of fresh coffee. A completely typical morning in the zoo.

"Cheers Lux. Any exciting news today?"

"Guess m'love." As usual, no one had anything new to say. Saïx sighed and left to go find Demyx. Or Xemnas. He'd been Xemnas' best friend since high school, as they both did Spanish, Chemistry and Biology together. Knowing the guy, he was probably trying to find someone to talk to. Same as Saïx was. He eventually found Vexen, who wasn't who he was looking for. But no matter, he liked the guy still, and it was probably thanks to Vexen that he even got offered a job at the zoo. Saïx decided to stay and talk to him. He owed Vexen that much. Besides, maybe he had something for Saïx to do. There were three things in the world that truly agitated Saïx: discrimination, his friends/family being hurt, and boredom.

"Ah, Saïx. Xigbar and I were looking for you. One of the lions are playing up and I couldn't find anything wrong with her physically..." The two men went down to a chamber where the lions were kept at night in the winter. As he had hoped, Saïx finally had something to do other than wander aimlessly in the small hope that he might find he's immaculate Xemnas (yes, Saïx had a thing for the guy. He had done since they were doing their final year in high school).

"Alright then, which one of these flesh-eating, roaring bundles of fur am I working on?" Vexen giggled slightly at the way Saïx had referred to the lions. He understood why though; it was far too early to start proper work. Especially on the mind of a potential death wish. But Vexen knew Saïx was the man for the job. That was why he recommended him. Vexen knew Saïx was an accurate and hard-working young man, he realised that when Demyx began asking him to come over to help with work. Then he and Zexion studied psychology together and he soon found that Saïx was talented at what he did. Zexion was talented too, but Saïx seemed so, how to say it, personal. If he couldn't help a person or animal, he really felt it. Even if he knew he was never going to see them again or if they were total strangers. Zexion worked efficiently because he never let anyone he did not know get to him. Emotion: it was Saïx's strength and Zexion's weakness.

"And here we have the lions….hmm…I wonder where the Sandy the lion went?" Xemnas gasped, playing with the crowd. He winked at Demyx, who immediately shrugged in return and ran off to find anyone who might know where the lion actually was. Saïx walked casually up to Demyx, pulled him back to the crowd. Time to make the announcement.

"I'm sorry everybody, but the Sandy won't be coming out today-"Saïx was cut off by children moaning, which was immediately hushed when Demyx questioned (still in a joking manner) what his blue-haired friend had just said.

"Sandy is feeling a bit sad and angry today. It's not safe to let her out. After all, we don't want anyone here being hurt or eaten!" Saïx soon left, to see if there was some way he could find out if there was some way of fixed that damned lion, while Demyx dealt with the children and Xemnas talked to the parents (who were not impressed by the way their children had been upset). Meanwhile, somewhere else in the zoo, Vexen was having to perform emergency surgery on an alligator that seemed to have horribly mutilated its leg by means that were not important to him at the time and Xaldin and Luxord were busy flying hawks and other birds of prey around a sea of true fascination.

"Leaving early again, are we?" Saïx jumped slightly and turned to face Xemnas, who seemed to always know where he was.

"Zexion. You know how he gets if I don't show up." Xemnas nodded in understanding, and began walking with Saïx out of the zoo and towards a large building not too far from it. Towards where Zexion worked at a therapist.

"Don't you have to stay at work?"  
"Dem has it under control. Why, don't you want me to come?" Saïx blushed furiously and sharply turned to look at the ground as a cover-up. Of course he wanted Xemnas to come. If Saïx could have his way, Xemnas would never leave his side ever again. And, more to the point, Xemnas would love him.

"No, I do. I enjoy the company."

Yes, it was going to be a long day for everyone at the zoo.


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you still having those dreams then

AN: Ok, so I'm going to start putting these at the beginning because I always seem to have something else to say. I'm now aiming at a chapter a day, but don't expect any miracles. First of all, anything with a before and after it is a memory. Anything with a / before it and a \\ after it is a dream. Comments, favourites (if you're really nice), cyber cookies, anything which could motivate me to write more is more than welcome. So far, Dem-Dem hasn't had to cry yet, so well done guys! :D

--

"Are you still having those dreams then?"

"Not as frequently. But they're getting worse. Look, Zex-"No matter how many times Saïx tried to tell his dear friend that he just did not need this therapy, Zexion refused to let him go. It was only because Zexion did not like the idea of the dreams Saïx told him he was having; especially when he told them what he saw. Saïx sighed before trying again, in the hope that if he persisted on, Zexion would finally give in.

"Look, Zexion. I appreciate what you're doing. But we studied psychology together for God's sake! I'd know if something was wrong with me. I'm probably under some form of tension or stress, that's all." For the first time since Zexion demanded that Saïx go to him for therapy, the small, purple-haired man had nothing to say. Saïx had the same idea as he did, so clearly he was thinking straight and there was a possibility that there was nothing seriously wrong with his mind. So why did he feel he had to look after him?

"Saïx, it's not the dreams I worry about. It's the fact that you believe them. And before you ask, the incident with Axel was a coincidence."

"….so much of a coincidence that I saw it before it happened?" Zexion sighed heavily. Saïx would not let that go.

One night, Saïx had a nightmare. It was one in a chain of many. He was on a bus with Zexion, Axel, Roxas, Xemnas, Lexaeus, Xigbar and Luxord. They all got off at a certain stop except Axel, who stayed on to go pick something up from a store. He was pulling faces at them from the back of the bus as it drove away, so Saïx stopped to return them. However, a lorry from the other lane swerved round and hit the bus, spilling oil which soon caught fire from a passing pedestrian who dropped the butt of their cigarette. Naturally, Saïx screamed to the others and ran to the flaming metallic lump. The heat and a fast-growing crowd prevented him from getting very far though, and all he could focus on were the pained screams and horrific, bloody state of his brother, who was slowly burning before his eyes. The next day, Saïx demanded that Axel get off at the stop that the rest of them did. As Saïx had dreamed, the lorry hit the bus and soon, all that was left of the two were smouldering metal skeletons and the traumatising sights of burned carcasses, injured people and ash.

It was then that Saïx began to think into his nightmares. But Zexion had none of it.

As Saïx walked out of the room, he considered whether he should just say to Zexion that he was going to stop attending the sessions. He never paid Zexion (not that Saïx didn't offer, just that Zexion refused to accept), so Zexion would just gain time to focus on people who really did have mental issues.

"How was he?"

"Same as ever. You're lucky, Xem. If he thought you had issues too, he'd never leave you alone." Xemnas laughed at his friend, who always seemed to make a joke of these nightmares, even though he knew that even the idea of them scared Saïx. He'd seen his best friend drink saturate his body with caffeine or go to some other extreme to keep sleep at bay. That scared Xemnas, which was why he encouraged those sessions; to see if Saïx could overcome the fear and start sleeping again. Saïx used to never lack energy, and was always ready to take on whatever life threw at him. But since that day with the bus, he'd not been the same. It was obvious (to Xemnas, at least) that the nightmares were getting to Saïx badly, yet no one talked about it. Not even Zexion, who focused on trying to get Saïx to stop believing what he was dreaming. It deeply upset Xemnas to see his best friend and the man he loved so quiet, and so distant. Yet he could not help but feel slightly honoured when he saw Saïx at least make an effort to smile and enjoy himself when he was around. It was as if he was the one person Saïx wanted to be assured that he was okay, which he was. Not to Xemnas' knowledge, he was the last person Saïx wanted to ask about the nightmares. Saïx wanted Xemnas to be happy, as happy and content as he was, once upon a time. If he were to worry, Saïx would never forgive himself for upsetting God's gift to Earth, so he played the game. Never spoke; never raised suspicion.

But Saïx made Xemnas more and more worried with each passing day. Xemnas wanted to help him. In fact, Xemnas was going to help him.

The two had barely reached the zoo before they were bombarded with tasks. No one ever questioned where Saïx went to; they all knew already.

"Xemnas, we need more school tour guides…"

"Saïx, you need to fix that damn lion…" Yes, that was nature's way of saying that they were still wanted in the world. The fact that there was always another group of people wanting personal tours or another animal that had psychological problems. But all day, Xemnas could not seem to take his mind off his beloved Saïx, and ways in which he could make it all better for him. All he wanted to do was make his problems disappear with a click of his fingers, never to come back. If only it were that simple. Saïx was as closed as a locked diary with a missing key, no one could read him. Not even his mother. But he needed to get Saïx to let him in, even if it meant spilling out his feelings for his blue-haired friend.

The day could not have dragged on any more if it was stretched on a rack for everyone. As Saïx walked into his apartment, all he could think about was the time he got to spend with Xemnas, alone, and the session with Zexion. That little (literally) bookworm had said something to him that day which he just could not get out of his head.

You cannot foresee the future, Saïx. It's all in your head, and it's all probably paranoia. Anything you do see will never happen, you should know that.

Or course he knew that it was all in his mind. But he had learned that science can be wrong. What if the dreams were trying to tell him something? What if everything he saw was leading him to something? Saïx threw himself ungraciously onto the sofa, rubbing his forehead with frustration. Both he and Zexion were thinking into the issue too much, he had to focus on something else. Something that had the capacity to occupy his mind until he fell asleep (which he was tempted to try again, the exhaustion would be the death of him). That was easy: Xemnas.

/They were walking through the town centre, just enjoying a day off together. It was a beautiful day, and they were all happy, even Saïx and the normally depressed-appearing Zexion. They reached the riverside, on the outskirts of the city. It was a picturesque setting; nothing seemed out of place or wrong.

"Hey boys. Any of you got £5 you could lend for some alcohol?" A drunk slurred to them. They all had the money, but each one mentally refused to give it to him. Each one shook their heads at him, with Xemnas actually speaking out.  
"Sorry, we're all out." But simple reasoning clearly was not going to work on this guy. He grabbed Xemnas by the shoulders, shaking him violently. Saïx bit and punched the man in an attempt to make him let go of Xemnas, but was punched in the stomach and mouth himself. Saïx recoiled, holding his stomach. He heard some of the others (including Xemnas) scream out to him, but he focused on standing again. He had to get this man away from everyone. Saïx could taste the bloody from his lip, and ran at the man again, trying to loosen his hands around Xemnas. The man finally let go, but only to pick Saïx up and throw him to the ground. Saïx heard the group gasp, scream and run to him. He could hear Xemnas hurling abuse at the drunk.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! You could've killed him you fucking idiot! We've got no money for you so go fuck off and ask someone else or maybe you'll do the decent fucking thing and go clean the hell up! People like you make me sick!! What the fuck did he ever do to you?!" Saïx wanted to tell Xemnas to stop, and to get everyone away from there, but he mouth refused to open. He saw the man grab Xemnas again, only this time, he dragged him to the river and threw him in. He then held him down, until the water became still again. The drunken man finally stumbled off, everyone too shocked to chase him. Luxord rushed to the river and fished Xemnas' body out. There was no pulse. It was too late. And all the while, Saïx was just lying on the floor….\\

Saïx screamed and sat bolt upright. He was covered in sweat, and looked at his surroundings. He was in his bedroom, he was safe. But what he just saw was so real. He grabbed his phone from the dresser and called Xemnas. If he answered, then Saïx knew it was all a dream. If he didn't, he could not be sure.

"H-Hello?" Thank God. He was okay.

"Oh my God…thank…oh God…you're okay…" Saïx sighed, more to himself than to Xemnas. Never before had he been more relieved.

"Umm…Saïx? Are you feeling alright?" Xemnas was awake now; Saïx had seen or heard something, and it had really scared him. His voice was so quiet and shaky.

"Yeah…yeah…just…they've come back Xem. The dreams came back…" Oh God. Not them again, Xemnas thought as he got out of bed and grabbed the first clean clothes he could find.  
"Alright Saïx, give me ten minutes. I'll be there soon."  
"Oh, no really, you don't-"  
"Yes, Saïx. I do. I'll see you in ten minutes." And with that, Xemnas hung up. He really did rush himself to get ready and almost ran to Saïx's apartment. The fact that it was some ungodly hour in the morning meant nothing; at that moment, Saïx was clearly traumatised by what he had seen. He needed to be there for him. And this time, Xemnas would make Saïx talk to him about it. Xemnas rang the doorbell, trying to hide just how out of breath he was.

Saïx was going to talk. That's what was best for him. Xemnas would make him.

As any good friend would.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Goddamn squiggly line that's meant to show memories didn't show up

AN: I know I know!! The one chapter a day thing starts now! Just been very busy. Anyway, goddamn squiggly line that's meant to show memories didn't show up. So now it's anything with : before and after it is a memory. They'll always start on a new line as well. As for the ending, well, that's what happens when I listen to X-Japan too much, especially Tears. Reviews are nice, if you give me them then Xemmy will give you a heart insert gasp here 

Xemnas stopped before ringing the bell, just to catch his breath. He knew Saïx would rant at him if he saw him out of breath and tired. But Xemnas needed to see him. No matter how many times Saïx was going to say he was fine, they both knew he wasn't. Those dreams were going to be the death of him unless Xemnas could get him to talk. After gaining a decent breathing pattern, Xemnas finally rang, which startled Saïx inside the apartment. He was amazed at how fast Xemnas had gotten there. Ashe went to answer, he had no idea what to say; he looked a mess and was still shaky. It all seemed so real to him, and if he had difficulty getting his own brother off a bus, how the hell was he meant to get nine people to follow him down another route, to something less lethal? But time ran short and, before he could even register what was going on, Saïx had opened the door. Showtime.

"Hey, look...umm…you really didn't have to-"

"I already told you, I do." Saïx was stopped dead in his tracks. Xemnas' voice was so stern, with what was almost a monotone. It was slightly scary, because the voice matched his face. Xemnas was mentally killing himself for it; that came out much colder than intended. Saïx certainly won't talk if he's scared of Xemnas. He needed a good recovery and he needed fast; the silence between them was growing awkward. Xemnas sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry about that. It's just…I've been worried about you since you called me. You seemed really shaken up about whatever the hell you saw." He was proud of that, seeing as Xemnas was never very good at making up for something said or done without long to think about it. Saïx grew even tenser, however. He knew calling Xemnas was a bad idea; he'd worried him. He tried not to do one thing (and appeared to not do it well for so long) and then he goes and makes everything worse. Saïx suddenly realised that he and Xemnas were in for a long night. He also realised that they looked ridiculous, just standing in the hall.

"Um…do you want to come in?" Xemnas nodded, and followed Saïx inside.

Despite being his best friend, he had never been to Saïx's apartment (the fact that he had only just moved into it a few months ago was something to consider). But even at a glance, he could definitely tell that Saïx lived there. He could just tell; everything about it was in character with Saïx. The obscene amount of astronomy books, the neutral colours and the way that even though everything was spread out all around the place at random, it still looked relatively neat. They both sat on the sofa, Saïx looking at every other thing in the room other than Xemnas. He could not seem to look at that man without blushing unless they were in comfortable conversation. Saïx should have expected what was coming, yet it was still able to startle him.

"Saïx…I want you to tell me about the dream." Saïx opened his mouth to argue, only to shut it again. As much as he hated to admit it, he had learned while studying psychology that if someone talked about any issue bothering them, they felt more relaxed and less agitated, because at least someone else was there for them. So, with much reluctance, Saïx explained what he had seen, the drunken man, being thrown to the floor, Luxord pulling Xemnas out of the river. Everything, in detail (he had also learned through practice that the more detail the problem is explained in, the better the sufferer feels). Saïx's words disturbed Xemnas slightly, but that was totally normal; no one liked to hear what was potentially their own death. He was not very fond of this man hurting Saïx either. No one, with rank, age, sex or anything else included, had the right to lay a finger on his Saïx if they intended to hurt him in any way. After Saïx had finished, the two just sat in silence. How was Xemnas supposed to respond to what he had just heard? He expected it to be serious, and he expected it to involve him. But he did not expect to hear what Saïx had just said. He looked at his friend sympathetically; he seemed to dream deaths or injuries a lot. He was amazed Saïx had not been driven insane. And yet, Saïx could just wake up the next day and act as if nothing had happened. Even Xemnas could see that was a recipe for self-destruction. While Xemnas contemplated how strong Saïx was and how he planned to help him, Saïx grew even more furious with himself. What was he thinking? He had just told Xemnas that he literally lay back and watched him die. Whatever state of mind he was in at the time, he had snapped out of it now and regretted everything he had just said. And there way of taking that one back; the icing on his badly baked cake.

"Saïx..."

"I know, it's completely insane. I shouldn't have told you, I honestly have no idea what I was thinking when I did. I'm sorry that I dragged you out of bed just to hear…-" Xemnas pressed his finger to Saïx's mouth, as a sign that he should stop speaking. He was not there to hear Saïx apologise.

"Saïx, I'm just amazed that you can see these things and still say you're okay. I want to be able to help you. There's got to be reason you have those dreams and I know Zexion's trying to find it, but maybe he's going the wrong way about doing so." Saïx stared at Xemnas, confused. What did he mean by that? Was there another way to go about fixing him?

: The man threw Xemnas in and held him down. Anyone who tried to stop him was as useless as a small child against an army. The water stopped and the man stood, and then stumbled off. Everyone sat in shock. Luxord pulled Xemnas out. No mater how many times they tried to resuscitate him, Xemnas was never coming back. His face had lost colour, but his eyes, they stared at Saïx accusingly…:

Xemnas tapped Saïx lightly. He had zoned out completely, and his face quickly grew an almost ghostly pale and his amber eyes grew wider and wider each passing second. He shook him lightly again, as Saïx gave no reaction to him the first time.

"I let you die…"

Xemnas sat back, once again in shock. He didn't let him die. He explained the dream; he was shocked by the attack and the situation. Everyone else was just as useless.

"What do you mean? That's not true Saïx, there was no way you could have stopped him..."

"I let you die. I did nothing. I let you die, Xemnas." Saïx's expression never changed. He never looked at Xemnas, which only added distance to his voice. He almost whispered it. Xemnas knew then that Saïx was letting everything he had been holding back come out in this one dream. He also knew that no matter what Saïx said or did, he was going to stay with him until he calmed down. Even if that meant staying until it was time to go to work. Even if it meant the two of them staying off work. Saïx could not get those words out of his head. He could hear his own voice echoing through his mind, sending shivers down his spine. He let Xemnas die. He could have at least tried. He saw it happen. He let the man he loved die. Did that mean he didn't love him? Of course he did, he had for so long. Even a blind person could see it. So if he loved him as much as he mentally claimed to, why did he just lie there? A small moment of sanity brought another thought to his already overflowing mind: what was happening to him?

As they both sat there, Saïx repeating his crime and Xemnas denying it, neither could tell who was going to win. Xemnas was getting more worried about Saïx. He had already decided that they were missing work that day; Saïx needed to calm down and, come hell or high water, Xemnas was not going to leave him. Those damned dreams were starting to eat into his conscious mind, and Xemnas wished time and time again that he could do something to make it all go away, to make Saïx happy again. He would kill to see him smile again, he silver-haired man noticed that he had lost eye contact with Saïx, and looked back up. A small trail of sliver glistened on Saïx's cheek, which was soon accompanied by another, and another. Xemnas reached over to wipe them away (if he could not wipe away the dreams, he could at least wipe away Saïx's tears), before holding Saïx as close to him as he could. Saïx gave no reaction at first, but he soon clung to Xemnas. He was scared to let go, he was scared that Xemnas would leave him if he did. And the last thing he wanted was to be alone with his thoughts. Saïx eventually settled down, but he refused to let sleep seduce him again, not if it would mean letting his mind be put in control. He never let go on Xemnas, but Xemnas was okay with that. He would still be okay if Saïx never let go of him.

"Saïx, do you believe your dreams?"

"…………yes." There was no lying to Xemnas. Saïx did believe what he saw, which just made them all the more traumatising. Surely now Xemnas would think he was insane, right?

"Don't worry, we'll get through this together. I'll always be here if you need to talk about them." He changed the subject. He did think he was insane. Saïx nodded, slightly embarrassed by his confession.

"I believe them too."


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I apologise for the emoness of the last chapter. I promise this one won't be as bad, but that was a small taste of what may come, now that I've actually worked out a storyline. Also, the jobs had to be done…you'll see what I mean. Anyways, keep reviews coming (and a very big heart for rainbow paopu for all the reviews!).

They spent the next few hours in silence, and as the sun settled itself comfortably in the clear blue sky, Saïx finally decided it was time to get ready for work. Yet, Xemnas refused to let him go (in the sense that he would not physically let go of him, and put even more pressure on Saïx whenever he tried to get up). Sighing, Saïx soon realised that his efforts were futile, especially as he was tired from the extreme lack of sleep and breakdown. Eventually, his struggle to fight sleep was lost and he let its sweet invitation beckon him once again. Xemnas soon noticed that Saïx wasn't trying to move at all, which worried him once again. He was pleased to see Saïx asleep because he knew he physically needed it and Saïx looked pretty damn cute in his sleep. But he could not stop the little feeling growing inside of him. What happened if Saïx had another vision? Should he stay just in case? If he did, would Saïx think he was weird? He decided to stay with Saïx, and would explain why when he woke up. Surely Saïx would understand, after all, everything Xemnas was doing had to have been something he learned in psychology. He had no idea how long he just sat there, completely entranced by his thoughts when his phone started ringing. He moved carefully, so not to wake Saïx, and walked out of the room to answer it.  
"Hello?"  
"Oi, skiver! You coming in today or what? And where's Saïxy gone? That lion still has something wrong with her!" Xemnas sighed loudly on purpose, so that Xigbar could hear that he wasn't going to answer with the same jokey attitude that the eye patched man seemed to constantly have.

"Saïx…it happened again, Xiggy. Only this time Saïx had a breakdown about what he dreamt. I'm not letting him go to work or stay on his own in that condition." Pause. Clearly Xigbar had not expected that, or else he would have made a snappy comeback. When Xigbar finally did answer, he had a much more serious tone, one which was rarely heard from Xigbar's mouth.

"Oh, okay then dude. Don't tell Zexion or he'll freak out about it and Saïx won't hear the end of it. And…err…take care, both of you."

"Alright then, hopefully see you tomorrow then." Xemnas hung up, put his phone back into the usual place of his pocket and went back to check on Saïx. He assumed from the man's stillness that nothing was happening. Yet.

Meanwhile, at the zoo, Xigbar was explaining to everyone who cared why Saïx and Xemnas were not going to be coming in. This group of people included Luxord, Demyx, Vexen, Xaldin and Marluxia (who actually worked for the fashion magazine Caramel, but was at the zoo anyways). There was a lot of discussion about whether not telling Zexion was a bad idea, how long Saïx could keep his sanity and what Marluxia was doing at the zoo anyway. When faced with the question, Marluxia simply sighed.

"Well, basically, we were looking for ideas for the next photo shoot and we got onto the subject of animals and some person who I don't know was all like 'oh Marluxia, you know people who work at a zoo, let's do that!' and everyone agreed so here I am, I have to take notes on all the animals and what you guys have to wear." The others looked at each other. Not much could be said, after all, if it was Marluxia's job, then he had to do it. But no one was sure as to how the uniforms most people wore at the zoo could look remotely attractive. Apart from maybe Vexen's, this consisted of black shoes and trousers, a white shirt which was covered mainly by a surgical gown and, occasionally, a white lab coat. Not even Vexen was sure why he had the lab coat, but he had endless fun teasing Xigbar, who wanted a lab coat too. Xaldin and Xigbar wore black trousers, any shoes which were comfortable and white shirts, seeing as they had the fun jobs of spending most of their time taking the risk that some bird of prey might just rip one of their limbs off. Xemnas and Demyx wore the same, but only they had to look smart (seeing as they were guides, the zoo needed them to make a good impression). Saïx and Xigbar just wore plain jeans and shirts, only wearing overalls if dealing with animals. Everyone could tell that Marluxia was going to have a tough time making said uniforms appealing to his fellow workers, but it was their fault he was at the zoo to begin with. Of course, he had no problem with being with his beloved Vexen (and he was certainly fine with the idea of having an excuse to follow and examine his 'clothes'), but he despised having to take photos of vicious animals with a passion. Marluxia sighed to himself as he took yet another photo of the alligators. He had a long day ahead of him.

The same could not be said for Xemnas. Saïx eventually woke up from what was actually a very decent sleep, and was very surprised to see his friend still there. Xemnas explained his reason and, as he had hoped, Saïx had no problem with it. However, Xemnas was completely unaware that Saïx would have been fine with him staying if he did not have a reason. All the memories of the previous night began flooding back to Saïx as if a dam had burst in his mind.

: The dream, Xemnas coming over, explaining everything to him, believing that he had let him die, crying, falling asleep in Xemnas' arms. :

If Saïx was totally honest, he would not be completely devastated if he forgot everything other than that last memory. He began wondering about it, as there were only two reasons he could think of as to why Xemnas held him like that: 1. he was being a good friend and that was the only way he could think of to calm Saïx down, or 2. a small part of him loved Saïx the way Saïx loved him. Saïx tried not to pin all his hope onto the second reason, as that was probably the least likely in his eyes. After all, he was going insane, and how could someone as flawless as Xemnas love someone who was slowly losing their touch with reality?

Time passed quickly for both of them. Xemnas thought of endless ways to occupy both himself and Saïx. He wanted to keep Saïx's mind away from last night. He did not want for Saïx to ask him anything about it. Xemnas realised too late that he had acted a little more than friendly to him last night. If Saïx were to question it, he would not lie to him; he just could not lie to Saïx. But he was afraid of jeopardising their friendship, because that would mean Saïx would take himself away from Xemnas. And if Xemnas knew anything, it was that he would rather Saïx be in his life, but only as friends than Saïx not be in his life at all or, which he thought was slightly worse, even hate him. But Xemnas tried not to think about anything to do with that. As they made lunch, Saïx would actually smile every time something went wrong for them. However, as much as Xemnas loved to see Saïx smile, they only meant half as much as his laugh, when he was truly happy. This came to his realisation when they were clearing everything away. Feeling that it would be rude to wash everything up while Xemnas was there, Saïx just threw anything that could not be put in the dishwasher into the sink, claiming he would wash them later. However, Xemnas (who had somehow gotten to timing perfect) decided that Saïx needed to be shocked before he fell asleep again, so turned the tap on while Saïx's hand we're still in there. Obviously, Saïx was not expecting it, so he squealed slightly and jumped back. He also feigned anger and flicked all the water that his hands were dripping with at Xemnas. Xemnas covered his face, occasionally looking up to see if Saïx had run out of water. One time he did that, Saïx was able to get water right in his face. Xemnas stood stationary for a few seconds, pretending to be annoyed be his defeat, and then slowly wiped the water off his face. While he did so, he was caught in an instant which he cherished more than the smiles. He heard Saïx laughing. Pure and genuine, he was actually laughing. And when he looked up, the image matched the sound. The moment caught on, and soon Xemnas was laughing too. What had happened was not particularly amusing, but they laughed. And even as Xemnas went home, even as he went to sleep that night, he still held on to that moment in time when he had made Saïx happy. He also prayed that, if God existed, he would make that happiness last forever.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Apologies for the suckish last chapter, but I needed to let off the emoness for a bit

AN: Apologies for the suckish last chapter, but I needed to let off the emoness for a bit. I'm afraid to say that it'll be hard to tell what chapters are going to be like from here on. But I'll mix them up for you. Reviews still appreciated, they're my motivation at the moment!

Saïx woke up the next day feeling a lot better than he had a couple of days ago. He had no memory of what he may have dreamed last night, which was good; something to tell Zexion. He always lightened up whenever Saïx said he could not recall dreams. But as he left for work, he suddenly wondered as to why he had those dreams. Was there some message in them that he would figure out in time? Were they, as Zexion believed, the result of a subconscious paranoia? Did he possess some sort of gift? So many possibilities ran through Saïx's mind, making the usually close to painfully boring journey to work remotely interesting. That may just have been because he was too busy focusing on any reasons which he thought of that could make sense. But few of them did, after all, supernatural abilities did not exist, right?

Saïx was not at all surprised when no one asked as to why he was away the day before. He knew that everyone knew, and most thought he was mad.  
"Mad or not, it would only make matters worse if he didn't leave himself time to recover." Vexen would always tell them in a casual tone, as if that sort of thing happened all the time (which it did for them). Xigbar began complaining to Saïx about the lion he was working on, which almost relieved Saïx; life went on.

"I'm working on it, Xig. It's not as if it can just tell me what's wrong!" Saïx snapped when Xigbar went too far. Nothing the eye patched man was not familiar with, though. In fact, that just proved that Saïx was back to his normal self again. As Saïx went through personality checks to see if the lion had anything out of the ordinary, he was met by two surprise visitors; his family. Saïx was shocked to see them, as it had been years since he had seen his mother and the last time he saw Axel was the incident with the bus two months ago. He took no time in questioning why they were there.

"Well, I'm on my break and thought I'd come see my darling big brother!" Axel replied in his always cocky voice. The man was overflowing with confidence, which was a blessing to him when he was able to control it, but a curse when he let it control him. Axel tried to playfully pinch Saïx's cheek, but his brother moved back, causing the redhead to stumble slightly. Saïx turned to his mother, still waiting for his answer.

"Well, it's been so long Saïx. Can't a mother check on her son from time to time? We also heard that those….things that you see have come back." He knew there was a reason. For Axel to just appear randomly was almost expected, but his mother would never just come without at least two hours notice. Only two people could have told them that something was wrong: Zexion or Xemnas. Xemnas was the only person who knew the full extent of the nightmares, but he also knew that Saïx would not want to worry his family with such 'minor' issues. That left Zexion, but he would not inform anyone of anything without fully researched and proven details. Who told his family meant little to Saïx though; it was the fact that it bothered them enough for them to actually see him. Seeing as Saïx had to go check something over with Vexen anyway, he invited them to walk with him, so that they could have some private time to talk.

From the point of view of the family, Axel knew that if something happened to Saïx, he would feel slightly alone. He had spent his entire life surrounded by people, to suddenly be the only (sane?) child would make him feel as if he had to always be there for his mother, because Saïx would not have the chance. As for Larxene (the mother), she just worried for her son. It was her motherly instinct, something was wrong and she wanted to help. Also, it was a reason for her to see her eldest. There was always one reason or another as to why they had been separated from each other for so long. She had not seen Axel in such a long time either, so any possibility for her to see her children was one she was willing to pin her hopes on. Larxene had just hoped that when she did see her sons again, it would be for a much less sinister cause. Saïx did not talk much about what happened; just that he had severe nightmares that could be sorted quickly once the cause was found. When they reached Vexen, the vet was more than happy to see his lifelong friend again and so they caught up on any missed events and news. Axel took this as a chance to talk to his brother alone, so that he could give his opinion. As he took the two of them away, the confusion and suspicion on Saïx's face made Axel a little more than uncomfortable. Saïx had a reputation for being able to silence people with a single expression.

"What is it, Axel?" Saïx demanded. He was tired of his family always evading questions and extending the time they had to answer them by using one diversion after another. It had been eighteen years and he still had not been told what happened to his father.

"I just want to know more about the dreams, Saïx. After all, it was because of one that I'm still alive. Since then, I've been really curious about them, but I've never found the right time to ask you about them." Saïx had to admit, that was not what he expected to hear. It was like talking to a stranger; the cocky and flamboyant Axel was gone and had been replaced by a serious and almost timid person. Saïx told his brother about the dream with Xemnas, and how his friend believed him. It was strange for Saïx to think that Axel, of all people, had any sort of belief in the dreams as well. But surely if two other people thought they meant something, he could not be insane. They went back, clearly not missed by the two adults who were still chatting idly to each other. Eventually, Saïx interrupted. As much as he did not want to admit it, he was still at work and he still needed to get his job done.

"Vexen, has Mischa had any cubs recently?" The blond checked through some paper, before confirming that the lion gave birth just over a week ago. Now Saïx could go tell Xigbar that the lion had post-natal depression. They continued on around the zoo, trying to find Xigbar. On the way, they ran into a few people, including Xemnas. Saïx bashfully thanked him for coming over on the night of the dream and for being there the previous day. Even though Xemnas brushed it off as something friends were there for, it was clear that the night, day and thanks all meant something to him. Saïx and Larxene wandered off again, discussing what work was like at the zoo. However, Axel stayed behind, grabbing Xemnas by the arm and whispering to him:

"Take care of Saïx. Something tells me he'll need it and I know you're the only person I can trust to." Xemnas nodded in understanding of the task, and then was released by Axel. He stared as the man walked off. He did not need Axel to tell him to look after Saïx, but he had no complaint about having the man's trust.

Back at his apartment, Saïx contemplated how weird the day had been. He woke up full of ideas about the dreams (one of which might lead somewhere) and ended up in some fancy restaurant with family that he had not been in contact with for what felt like an eternity. As he flicked through the TV to see if anything of any decency was on, he could not help an uneasy feeling creep into his stomach. He felt as if he was being watched, as if he was not alone. Checking around, he found nothing. Maybe Zexion was right, maybe he was paranoid. But he could see a hand on some papers on his desk from the corner of his eye, which caused him to look around again. The hand was gone, but the papers had been rustled and there were scorch marks on them. Saïx knew for a fact that those marks were not there when he entered the flat. Someone had walked in with him; someone else was definitely there. And whoever they were, they were fast and damn good at hiding. Saïx called out, demanding that if whoever it was did not show themselves, he would call the police. He was not sure what it would do, but it was the best threat he could think of in such a panicky condition. He sat back down, phone in hand, and focused in front of him. Not at anything in particular, in fact, he was not even focused. He was just staring blankly, trying and failing to calm himself down. He had no idea what he was going to do.

Saïx had no idea how long he sat there before he heard more noises, as if something was walking towards him. The man was petrified as to what it could be, too scared to look anywhere other than in front of him. The noises continued, but Saïx saw nothing other than the usual surroundings of his apartment. Only, it was scattered with scorch marks, just like those on the papers. Was someone trying to burn the flat? Was someone trying to kill him? It was impossible; he had no quarrel with anyone and he had not dreamt it. Maybe he could not dream his own death. Saïx tried again to calm down. He was not going die; there were many ways to get out of the apartment and if he did die, whoever the hell was in there with him would most certainly die too. Suddenly, a huge, muscular, demon-like creature which almost as tall as the flat appeared before him. Saïx could not scream, his mouth just would not open. The creature leaned forward, so that their faces were almost touching. Saïx had to be hallucinating. But as many times as he shut his eyes and told himself it was not real, he was always met by the same menacing scene. Saïx could feel an extreme heat radiating from the demon, and he could see his hands burning holes into his sofa. The demon smirked.

"Hello, Saïx. I'm here to play a game with you."


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Oh, scary

AN/WARNING: You are about to witness why no fangirl with an already messed up imagination should not watch any sort of religious horror films or Saw. I promise you all that there'll be some nice Xemsai fluff to make up for the last two chapters. Anyways, reviews and favourites are still greatly appreciated! (:

Saïx continued to stare up at the demon, never blinking. His eyes never left those blood red, almost angry eyes as the creature stood, summoning a chair that seemed to be made of nothing but fire. As it took a seat, Saïx finally noticed that he was breathing erratically and loudly. He tried one last time to calm down; he could not let that thing know that he was afraid. Nor could he just call on Xemnas to come make it all better. He had to face everything on his own this time. Still eyeing the demon cautiously, eyes glistening with fear, Saïx invited the demon to tell him more. He wanted to know what 'game' this creature planned on playing with him.

"Patience! First, do you have any idea who I am, Saïx?" They way it knew his name never failed to send shivers down Saïx's spine. Had it been watching him? And how long for? He could not help but wonder just how much the demon knew about him, and just how he planned to use that information. Saïx shook his head, far from calmly, at what must be a famous creature, for it to question if Saïx knew what it was. The creature smirked.

"Poor child. Well, believe what you will, but I am, in fact, Satan."

Saïx gasped. He had to be dreaming all this. There is no way in hell that Satan would be talking to him (no pun intended). He was not even sure if God and Satan even existed, let alone have one of them sitting in his living room. He shook his head again, only this time in disbelief. He had grown a little less scared by that last comment, because he knew this could not be real. 'Satan' just sat there, nodding slowly. Saïx then made a mistake; he blinked. In the small moment in time where his eyes were shut and he could not see anything around him, his apartment and its surroundings had gone, and were replaced by buildings that were falling apart, containing people screaming in agony and sadness. The street beneath his feet was almost completely red with blood, and the sky was black and thick, showing no sign of light. And fire, it was everywhere. Everything here seemed to be suffering. Saïx stared in horror at the demon, and the realisation dawned on him; that thing was Satan. Saïx backed away from it, only to feel pressure on his ankle. He looked down to see a woman, so thin that she appeared to be literally made of flesh and bone, and she was obviously too weak to stand. She stared up at him, her face gaunt and pale, her eyes pleading for help. Saïx screamed slightly and stepped out of her grasp, glancing at Satan in shock. The woman was dismissed by Satan, and she quickly scrambled away. Satan beckoned Saïx closer again, and Saïx obeyed, in a total lapse of self-control. The two walked through the broken city.

"Where am I?!"  
"Welcome, pretty boy, to Hell."

They reached a park, no different to the rest of Hell. A complete mess, no plant life at all and everything seemed to be in pain. Satan sat on a bench, and commanded Saïx to sit as well. Saïx could not take his eyes away from everything around him. He had never seen anything like it before. His amber eyes grew with each passing second; he felt sick. But what else could he feel? He had heard adults and infants scream in complete pain, he had seen people who would spend the rest of eternity dying, he had stood walked in a path of blood. The air was heavy and humid, making it hard for him to breathe. He wanted answers, and he longed to find a way out of this place.

"Why am I here?! What do you want from me??" Demanded Saïx. He momentarily forgot who he was talking to, but never did he regret his outburst. He had the right to know. Then again, it appeared that no one in Hell had any rights to anything. Satan laughed mockingly. He was enjoying messing with Saïx.

"Ah, yes. Down to business. I want to play a game, Saïx. It's a very simple game; I give you the gift of hindsight and you give me the pleasure of seeing how long you can last. There are no rules apart from one: you tell no one of our little secret." Satan tapped the side of his nose, the sign of secrecy. Saïx could not believe what he was hearing; Satan was giving him the dreams. If only Zexion were there.

"Wait, why are you helping me? You're letting people I care about live, isn't that making me happy?" Satan laughed again. The innocence of humans was like a blank canvas to him, he had so much to work with.

"I'm not. Whether you agree to my offer or not, you'll lose everything. If you accept, even those who believe you will desert you in the new belief that you are mad. If you refuse, your friends will die one by one, leaving you alone." What a choice. Saïx wished that he could just call Xemnas again and that he would make everything go away. But he knew it would never happen. He had to choose: watch his friends leave him or watch them die.

"Yes, a tough choice. But surely, wouldn't you rather see your beloved Xemnas simply make the most of his life rather than let him die? After all, you and your friends are going to town tomorrow, aren't you?" Saïx's eyes grew at the statement. It would break him apart if Xemnas ever left him alone, but he would not be able to live with himself if he knew that Xemnas was going to die and it would be his fault. He had one last question.

"What would happen if I were to tell anyone?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that they would definitely think you were mad and even put you in an asylum. And then you'd be no more fun. After all, there's a limit to how far you can push mortal faith, right?" Time ticked by slowly as Saïx weighed out the cons of each situation, seeing which one he preferred. Eventually, he sighed. He had made his decision.

"Alright, Satan. I accept." Satan smiled.

Saïx blinked again and he was back. Sitting in his apartment, everything how it was when he left that morning. No scorch marks, nothing. He jumped as his phone started ringing. Still shaking, he picked it up.

"H-Hello?"  
"Saïx! What's going on?! I've been trying to get hold of you for ages now!" Xemnas ranted, slightly relieved that Saïx picked up. At least he knew he was still okay.

"Sorry, Xem. I've been…"

:"You tell no one of our little secret":

"Saïx? You still there?" Xemnas began worrying again. Saïx seemed out of it again. He hated it when Saïx was like this. He knew something was wrong but Saïx would not tell him. If he needed to go over there again, he would. If Saïx said he needed him, he would be by his side in a heartbeat.  
"Yeah, sorry. Just zoned out again."

"Saïx, did they come back again?" Saïx could not tell him that he made a deal with Satan, even if he did say it was a dream. It was the skeleton he kept in his closet. He would tell no one, as he promised.

"No, just still sleepy, that's all. Xem, can we call off tomorrow?" Xemnas was confused at first. Call it off? Why? But then he remembered.

"Oh, yeah. Sure. Or, we could just change plans. All do something else." It was the safer option. That way, everyone was still together, but far away from the centre. The only flaw was: what did Xemnas plan to do? Saïx agreed, but asked as to what else could they all do.

"Well…um…come here!" Saïx sat there for a bit. He had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea. Xemnas' place seemed different each time Saïx went there, always something else there that was never there before. He agreed, and they worked out times and everything else that came with it.

"Alright then. See you here. I'll tell everyone, Saïx. You just get some more rest." Xemnas had a habit of doing that; always having the last word. As Saïx put the phone back, he contemplated if everything was just a dream. But soon saw in his bedroom mirror that his face now has a large, X shaped scar just between his eyes. He gasped and reached up to his face, tentatively running his fingers across it. It then occurred to him that Satan had made it. Just a little reminder that it was all real.

Saïx sighed as he went to sleep that night. He would have a tough time explaining his scar tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Oh wows, it's finally here, the promised fluff

AN: Oh wows, it's finally here, the promised fluff! Yes, I'll have random fluff chapters here and there, I promise! Everything I say about the Wii is true, just so you know. Each review takes Saïx one step closer to having a normal life, so review for his sake! :3

Saïx forced himself to wake up earlier than he actually had to. He got dressed and ready at a good speed, but spent only God knows how long trying to settle on a reason for his scar. After all, the real reason was hardly believable. He eventually settled on a late night emergency at work. It would explain why he took so long to answer Xemnas' calls and it was a good excuse. A late night emergency also cost Xigbar his left eye and gave him a good few scars. He then practised smiles which seemed at least half natural. By the time he had finished that, it was time for him to leave. Day one of his new life.

The buzzer went not long after Xigbar, Demyx and Xaldin had arrived. Each time it went, Xemnas almost ran to the door, with the hope that it was Saïx. As he had already explained to Xigbar when he questioned Xemnas' restlessness, he had decided to finally stop holding back around Saïx. However, when the man finally did arrive, Xemnas did not react the way he had planned to.

"Oh my God, Saïx!! What the hell happened?!" Xemnas almost screamed, causing the other three to come rushing to the door. Demyx let out a startled high pitched squeal, while Xaldin and Xigbar just stared, intrigued. Xemnas let Saïx in, listening to his every word. If someone had hurt him, Xemnas would go search the world to find and kill them. Which lead him to be slightly disheartened that he could not take revenge on an animal. Xigbar smirked at the end of Saïx's fake story.

"You too then, eh?" Saïx nodded, knowing that Xigbar would believe him instantly, as he was also a victim to Saïx's lie. Demyx quickly ran off, yelling about something amazing that Xemnas had and Xaldin went after him, to check that there was no risk of their overly hyper-active friend breaking anything. Xigbar caught onto the chance Xemnas had quickly, and left to go help Xaldin. It was finally Xemnas' chance; it may be a very long time until he gets one like it. And he was not willing to wait.

"Does it hurt?" Saïx stared at him, slightly confused. When Xemnas motioned towards the scar, he quickly blushed and looked away. Great move there.

"Um...it did…not really anymore…" Xemnas cupped Saïx's cheek, turning his head so that he was facing him again. Saïx's cheeks were growing even redder by the second. He was not quite sure what to expect, and Xemnas was not sure what to do. If he was completely honest, he had expected Saïx to pull away. Xemnas was going to tell him everything; he was going to put their friendship on the line…

The door buzzed. Xemnas (who was ready to horribly mutilate whoever was at the door) went to answer. Saïx just sat still, completely shocked. What had just happened? He could swear that Xemnas was going to tell him something. And not even a blind person could miss that one second after the buzzer went off where his friend looked annoyed. Saïx could not figure out why Xemnas seemed so annoyed, as he was total oblivious to Xemnas' nearly successful attempt at letting him know what he felt about him. And Axel and Roxas were so damn lucky that Demyx was around or else Xemnas would have disembowelled them on the spot. Nonetheless, he acted completely civil and let them in, big smiles and everything. How were they to know about what was going on anyway? By the time he had gotten back, Saïx was being amused by Xaldin, who was being dragged to look at everything and anything by Demyx (who had the maturity of a five year old). The looks on Xaldin's face whenever Demyx found something new were classic Kodak moments. Roxas was soon dragged along by Demyx, but some things did actually amuse him. And, as always, Axel went wherever Roxas went, occasionally leaving him to go talk with his brother, about everything: the scar, work, friends, and anything else that they could think of. Xemnas just walked into the kitchen, where Xigbar was getting drinks, sat down and almost slammed his head onto the table. Xigbar laughed.

"It all went wrong then, dude?"

"Honestly, Xig. I was so fucking close, you would not believe it and then…those two decided to show up!" Xemnas complained, gesturing to Axel and Roxas. Xigbar laughed again, taking up the other seat at the table so that he could talk with Xemnas better. The guy looked like a strange twist between annoyance and disappointment. Xigbar laughed at how sorry his friend looked, ruffling his hair slightly.

"Don't worry, dude. I'll help you get another chance, trust me."  
"Trust me, something will happen to ruin it."  
"As if! Saïx will not leave here without you talking to him, yeah?" The door buzzed again. Xemnas groaned loudly and threw his head back down between his arms, which were folded on the table. Xigbar stood up, patting Xemnas on the back.

"You go get that, dude. I gotta start planning." He winked.

It was not long before everyone was there. It took even less time for them to notice that Xemnas had a Wii. Everyone was enjoying themselves, attempting to beat whoever the hell was playing against them on the Mario/Sonic Olympic Games. Teasing was also part of the enjoyment; especially towards Axel when it came to rowing. Everyone found it hilarious that you had to thrust in order to row, and (when against Saïx, Zexion and Luxord) Axel came last. That then lead to a discussion about how good he was in bed if he could not beat them at the game and then everybody was discussing sex in one way or another. Nobody was quite sure how the conversation then went to who was scared of what, but it did. By around 9:00, people started leaving. They had to admit, the day out would not have held a candle to the day they had at Xemnas'. Better still, no one died. Everybody wins. Saïx, Xemnas and Xigbar were the only ones left by the end. Then was Xigbar's chance to let Xemnas have one last attempt at talking to Saïx. Claiming he had to make a very important call to someone, he left to go to the kitchen. Once again, Saïx and Xemnas were alone. The two of them threw themselves back onto the sofa, laughing at something neither of them could remember. Both of them had been clinging to the other slightly, Axel even commented on it when he was talking to Saïx. The bluenette just went redder than his brother's hair and said he had no idea what Axel was on about. Also, to neither Saïx nor Xemnas' knowledge, Luxord and Lexaeus had made a bet on whether they'd get together. Typical Luxord, though. The laughter soon died into silence, but it was not awkward at all. Saïx was slightly leaning on Xemnas but no one complained. Xemnas took a few deep breaths; take two. Action.

"Saïx…um…there's kinda been something…I've been meaning to tell you…" Xemnas mumbled, suddenly losing all the confidence his voice usually had. Saïx mumbled, urging him to go on. Saïx smiled slightly; Xemnas was really cute when he was shy. Now it was Xemnas' turn to blush, his tanned cheeks stained with red and his eyes darting to every other place in the room other than Saïx. Xemnas knew he would lose it completely if he made eye contact with Saïx. But how could he not look at those amber eyes, which could capture him forever if he was not careful. By some miracle, he actually gained some confidence when he looked at Saïx. He could do this; it was going to be fine.

"Well, for a while now…I've really, really liked you…more than friends. And I'd really like it if we could…you know…be more." Saïx was stopped dead in his tracks for a few seconds. Did Xemnas really just say that? After all that had gone on, was something good finally happening? He could not help the smile which grew across his face. He wanted to scream everything he ever felt for Xemnas at him. He just wanted to scream. It had been so long since he was this happy. Xemnas took his smile as a good sign; he was obviously happy about something. Unless Saïx thought he was joking. But Xemnas refused to let that thought go any further. For once, he was going to think positively, just to see what happens.

"You know what, Xemnas? I'd really like that too."

The two walked to the door, smiling non-stop at each other. In fact, smiling was an understatement. They were beaming at each other. As Saïx left, they just stood in the doorway, just smiling. Eventually, Saïx just decided to screw holding back and grabbed a tight hold of Xemnas. Xemnas laughed, and held Saïx in return. This was not like when they said goodbye usually, or the night of Saïx's dream. This was a lot different, it seemed to mean so much more. Saïx finally pulled away, but only to that he could plant a small kiss on Xemnas' lips, something he never thought he would get the chance to do. As he pulled back, he smiled again before walking off. Xemnas shut the door, tentatively touching his lips. He giggles slightly to himself; he had kissed Saïx. Xigbar walked back into the room, after hearing the door shut.

"Well? Did it go alright?" Xemnas turned around, still smiling madly.

"Hell yeah."


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I'm sorry guys

AN: I'm sorry guys! I pretty much died for a bit, and I'm gonna update loads now because next week I'm computerless and in Holland . Thanks for all the reviews and favourites so far, please keep it up! :D

When Saïx woke up, he smiled. For the first time in only God knew how long, he felt he was going to have a good day; no dreams, and he'd finally gotten together with Xemnas. It seemed that fortune was finally smiling at him. It wasn't until he reached work that he realised something had to go wrong. Luckily for him, it was only another messed up animal. And Xemnas left halfway through the day. No warning, nothing.

"Look, it can't be important if he didn't tell anyone where he went, and he's probably coming back." Lexaeus (an old friend of Zexion and Xaldin, who owned a gym not far from the zoo. He has time off, so there he was) comforted when Saïx hurried past them, looking more anxious than a student awaiting their GCSE results. The bluenette nodded and smiled slightly, deciding that Lexaeus was right. If something serious had happened, Xemnas would have told Saïx at least, so not to worry him. He had probably gone to get something for lunch.

Saïx sat down on a bench, alone. Not that nobody was talking to him, he had asked for a few minutes alone. He had a throbbing headache that felt like his brain was trying to smash his head open from the inside. Vexen had given him some tablets, but they were taking their sweet time to start working. He sat with his head in his hands, the headache starting to get the better of him. He had never felt anything like it before, and it was actually making him feel a bit weak and sick.

/Just lunch, that was all. He never told anyone, because there was no point. He would be back soon enough. He'd even got cookies for everyone, just because he felt like it. He was just as happy as Saïx, nothing could bring him down. The crossing was clear; the green man signalled for him to cross. A car approached, but Xemnas did not stop. The driver would know to stop when he saw the light, right? Exactly. He reached the other side without a care; he had made this journey countless times. The lights turned green to the cars, signalling that it was now their turn. Xemnas soon heard screaming, and turned around to find a car on the pavement, the driver asleep. He had no time to register anything; in a second the car had him pinned against a tree, and Xemnas had no feeling in anything below his waist. He found it hard to breathe; he knew he was dying…\\

Saïx snapped up, breathing heavily (as he had held his breath for that entire vision). He ran to the bathroom to wash his face. He looked up to find himself looking in even more of a mess than he did before. A voice, quiet, but loud enough to capture Saïx's attention.

"You have exactly six minutes. Run boy." Immediately, Saïx ran, pushing everything in his path aside. He ran straight out of the zoo, no one even attempting to stop him. Saïx knew where he was going, so he ran. Even when his heart felt like it was going to implode, he ran. Even when he felt like his lungs were about to collapse, he ran. Even when he felt like his legs were about to give way, he ran. Saïx simply could not risk being late. He looked at his watch: three minutes. He picked up the pace; no rest for the wicked, or their victims. He eventually reached Xemnas. He made it. Slowing down, he half walked-half limped to Xemnas. The silver haired man turned around, shocked to find his love seeming as if he was about to pass out at any second.

"Saïx! Wha-"

"No time…just move…Stay away from the main junction," Saïx panted, trying to catch his breath. Xemnas stared at Saïx, slightly confused. Nonetheless, he went with the man, not wanting to worsen his condition. They continued to the zoo, taking the longer route. As predicted, the car swerved to the pavement, before crashing into the same tree. Xemnas stared in horror, while Saïx concentrated on regaining strength in his legs. Slowly, Xemnas turned to Saïx.

"You saw it, didn't you? You saw this." Saïx nodded.  
"Except…when it crashed…you were between the tree and the car." Saïx stood, feeling he was able to walk unaided. The two just stared at each other. Xemnas could not believe it; twice now Saïx had saved his life. And each time it was almost forgotten the next day. He had never met someone so strong. It amazed him completely. The two walked on, speaking nothing of what happened to anyone else. Even when Saïx went to Zexion, he said nothing of what he saw. He just told him that he had not had the dreams in a while. Zexion smiled at him, falsely believing that Saïx was on a steady road to recovery. How wrong he was.

After work, Saïx did not go home. He stopped off outside a place he never thought he'd see himself. The wooden doors looked threatening, but were easily opened; as if the building expected him to come. Saïx walked directly up the middle isle of the church, but took his time. He had the rest of the day to stay in this place. He knew Satan could not reach him here. He had also thought; if that demon exists, surely God must as well? He laughed slightly at the though. He had heard so many stories of people losing their faith, yet he was gaining it. Saïx finally reached the steps of the alter, and sat down slowly. He began to pray. It was a whisper, hardly there at all. But this was his last resort. He saw Xemnas' face today; Satan's plan was coming into action. He asked for help.

"I know I never believed before, but I do now. And I need something. A sign, something to tell me everything's going to be okay. Something to tell me not to give up." He never noticed the doors open for another until that person spoke to him.

"Well, there's a surprise. Who knew Saïx was a Catholic" Luxord laughed. Luxord was only in the church because he saw Saïx's car, and wondered what had brought him to such a place.

"I'm not, but…I don't know. Lately thing's have been really out of control and I guess this is kind of a last resort." Saïx sighed, being totally honest without giving away the game. Luxord nodded, taking a seat opposite his friend. He had seen Saïx run out of the zoo that day, and how quiet he had been when he and Xemnas returned. In fact, Saïx had been growing less and less confident. He was almost starting to seclude himself. And as for being sick, something was seriously wrong. It made him think, was something seriously wrong with Saïx? Did he have a disease? Was he dying? Luxord really hated the idea of any of his friends being ill, let alone having one die. Not to mention what it would do to Xemnas. The man would be crushed.

"Saïx…I think I know what's going on…tell me, what's wrong with you?" Saïx looked up, confused. He was not at all anxious as to whether Luxord knew the truth; there was a higher chance of him waking up the next day as a woman. Saïx urged Luxord on, wanting to know what his version of the story was.

"You're ill, aren't you? Is it serious?" Ill, it was inevitable. He had been ill for a while, and anxious about what was to come. Yes, Luxord. To you and the others, I'm very ill, Saïx thought, deciding that it was the best excuse.

"Pretty serious, but I don't want anyone to fuss about it."  
"Are you going to die?" It hit Saïx. Suicide. That's what Satan wanted. Suicide, he wanted to watch Saïx squirm until he finally snapped and pulled the plug. You bastard, you fucking bastard, Saïx thought once more, forgetting where he was for an instant. He mentally apologised for his outburst, before answering Luxord.

"Well, there's a higher chance of that than there is of me living." He sighed, acting so well as if that was the truth. The last comment was truthful, as there was a higher chance of Saïx succumbing to suicide than there was of him finding a way out. Luxord stared in shock, watching as Saïx stood to leave.

"See you tomorrow." The amber-eyed man smiled weakly, before leaving. He felt awful. He had just lied to one of his best friends to hide what would be called madness. Going home, he just wanted to hide until it was all over.

Of course, that was a fantasy. Saïx was destroying everything, throwing pillows everywhere, screaming unintelligible noises, crying manically, and breaking anything that could be broken. The phone broke Saïx's moment of madness. The man took a few moments to calm down before answering.

"Hel-"  
"Why didn't you tell me?! Luxord just called me explaining some conversation you two had in a church!!" Xemnas shouted, a lot more angrily than he meant to. He could not help it; his heart was breaking. His Saïx was slowly dying and he had never told him. By the looks of things, no one knew.

"I'm sorry, Xemnas. It's not anyone else's problem though, and I didn't want everyone to start worrying."  
"…Yeah, he mentioned you saying that. Do you know how long you have left?" Saïx was getting far too involved in his lie; he had to remember the truth.

"No. I'm sorry, but I have to go, Xem. I love you." Saïx hung up, and both of them burst into tears. One for the forthcoming loss of his love, the other for the forthcoming loss of everything he held dear to him.

The plan was coming into action quicker than Saïx could deal with.


	10. Chapter 10

AN: Okay, I have a bit of time before I go, so this will be the last chapter for a while

AN: Hey guys. Sorry about acting pretty dead for a while, but after Holland I had to get ready for school and get blood tests from some reason or another. But enough ranting, I'm writing again now! Keep up the reviews please, because the story's slowly coming to an end now.

Saïx decided quickly that morning that he would not go to work. The idea of having to face everyone about his 'disease' was bad enough, but after his conversation with Xemnas yesterday, he was terrified to see how the man would react if he saw Saïx. He had no idea that Xemnas himself was scared when Saïx did not show up. He debated going to see Saïx, but the others decided against it.

"He might be at a hospital or something, or maybe he just wants some time to himself." Was the main statement, but Xemnas was desperate to see Saïx. He really did not want the phone call the night before to be the last thing he said to Saïx before he died. That really crushed him; Saïx was dying. How could he not have seen it coming? Admittedly, nobody did until recently, but it still made Xemnas increasingly angry at himself. He should have been there for Saïx to go to when it first started. He wasn't close enough to Saïx, or else he would have told Xemnas everything. Or maybe that was it, maybe he was to close to Saïx, and he had put the man in a position where he was scared to tell him. Either way, he was going to be there for him, from then on. At least then he could say he tried.

Back at his apartment, Saïx paced about, dropping everything he would normally do to try and work out his situation. He forgot to eat breakfast and lunch, he forgot to call in sick and work and he forgot to even change. Somehow, everything he always seemed to prioritise just seemed to pointless. H was not hungry, so why eat? It was obvious by now that he was not going to work, so why should he call? He was not going anywhere, so why change? As that thought crossed his mind, he realised that Satan was not only controlling his friends' fates, he was controlling him as well. Those thoughts were certainly not Saïx's, he would never think like that. Saïx always stood by what he though important, even if it did seem silly. He threw his head against the wall, gaining nothing but a minor headache. He had no idea what he was planning to gain, but something other than a headache would have been nice. Sighing loudly, Saïx concluded what he had realised so far.

He was playing a lethal game with Satan, who he believed didn't exist.

He had told his friends, family and boyfriend that he was seriously ill.

He was slowly being pushed to suicide.

He was the only one who could save everyone he held dear to him.

His boyfriend was seriously pissed off at him.

He had stopped ranting at his cat and started ranting at his reflection (not a good sign).

After establishing that list, he then had to work out a solution to each point, maybe then he could just find a way out. He might not like it, but it would be his only option other than play the game. However, working out each one seemed a bit hard, as he could not exactly call off the game and everything would be fine. Even if he could, he would still have to explain to everyone about his apparent illness. Sighing again, Saïx flopped down onto the sofa, next to the cat. The small bundle of grey fur merely looked up at him, before returning back to sleep. Easy for you, you're just a cat, Saïx thought, envying the easy life his little kitten was leading. He had already decided that Xemnas should have it if and when he died. Maybe that was his way out. As depressing as it sounded, maybe he could really get away through suicide. Saïx looked around his apartment. He was not keen on the idea of killing himself at all. In fact, he spent just over two hours trying to work out some other way. But he came up with nothing.  
"Okay, great, I've gotta die. But I don't want to. So I'm not going to be able to kill myself if I don't want to therefore I won't kill myself which means I'm stuck for ideas…again!" He ranted to no one in particular. He tried and tried again to work out a much nicer way out of his problem, and was even tempted to call Zexion (who really did know everything), but remembered that the game involved not telling anyone. Satan had made it clear that he would not let Saïx break the rules.

Saïx jumped as the phone rang. By now, he really should have been used to it, but it till managed to startle him every time. As he reached for it, it suddenly occurred to him for the first time since this mess started that he had caller ID. Saïx mentally slapped himself, seeing as he would be a lot less worried about some things if he knew who was calling him. He checked the phone: Lexaeus Mobile. It was strange for Lexaeus to call him, seeing as the never really got on (they talked, and neither man had something against the other, it was just that they never really got to know each other). There was no harm in answering; after all, he needed a break from his mind.

"Hello?"

"Hey Saïx, its Zexion. I've got no credit at the moment so…yeah…"  
"Umm…okay…what's wrong?" Pause. Incomprehensible discussion between Zexion and Lexaeus. Somehow, none of it fazed Saïx at all. He felt nothing at all, just numbness in his mind. He had no idea what to expect from his friend and yet, for the firs time in what felt like a lifetime, Saïx just did not care. He could not be bothered with what people said to him anymore.

"…You tell me Saïx. You didn't tell Luxord, you didn't tell Xemnas, you didn't tell anybody. But I want you to tell me what's wrong with you." Saïx sighed mentally. Now he had to think of an illness; something he could not be bothered to do. He said whatever came to his head, and prayed that it would somehow make sense.

"I have a low white blood cell count. Eventually, my immune system's going to go down completely and then I'm screwed. That's what's wrong." Yes, it was harsh. But he had to be. Part of him wanted to take it back and tell the truth, but he held strong. Zexion discussed with Lexaeus again, asking about Saïx's 'disease'. He heard Lexaeus mumble his agreement with Saïx, and Zexion returned.

"How long do you have?"

"….Let's just say, I don't think I'm going to work again…ever." He could taste Zexion's shock, the horror of witnessing someone close to you dying. It was something Saïx was acquainted with. The slow understanding of his position had ended. He knew everything and just how he was going to go about stopping it. And somewhere in his mind, he had completely accepted it. As if it was all part of some major plan. He could not be scared or angry at anything if it was all part of a plan. Maybe he had learned to view it like that so that he would not be so afraid, so that he could think clearly. Maybe he also learned to view it like that so that he would not be as terrified of dying as he once was. But that time was past.

Xemnas almost ran to Saïx's apartment. Zexion had called him immediately after he had finished with Saïx and told him everything. Xemnas was still angry; once again, he wasn't there for Saïx. Zexion had admitted that he had forced it out of Saïx, but it still angered Xemnas to think that Saïx felt that he had to keep secrets. Like a barrier, something was blocking the two. Other than that, their relationship would be perfect. Xemnas knew he could sort it out. He'd have to if he were to ever accept Saïx's upcoming death. It had all been so sudden, Saïx was never ill. That made him think: how long had Saïx been holding back for? Xemnas had no time to make sure he looked respectable or to even knock on the door politely and wait. He needed to see Saïx, because if he did not then, he probably never would ever again. When Saïx answered, he finally felt something. Xemnas was the last person he wanted to see. Saïx was completely petrified by the thought of hurting Xemnas more than he had.

The scene was inevitable; Xemnas questioned Saïx like there was no tomorrow, Saïx gave answers that sounded incredibly realistic. But the blue-haired man was completely taken aback when he found Xemnas crying. He had never wanted to make his love cry, not with sadness anyway. He tried his best to make Xemnas feel better, to see him happy again. But all his efforts were in vain; Xemnas was far too distraught by what he had been told. Saïx had a matter of days to live. When Xemnas eventually left (because he could not bear to see Saïx anymore, whenever he did, his heart just shattered to even more pieces), Sax grabbed him. This was the one thing he would not just accept.

"Xemnas, please. I want to see you smile one last time." Sax managed, almost whispering at the end. He finally had the most beautiful person in existence, and he was never going to see him again. Xemnas turned, smiling weakly for the one that meant the most to him. He would manage that one last request for him. Xemnas then grabbed Saïx, embracing him tightly, terrified that Saïx would just disappear if he let go. They eventually broke apart, and Xemnas kissed Saïx gently before leaving. Saïx felt slightly fulfilled, because he knew that his last memory of Xemnas would be him showing Saïx how much he really meant to Xemnas.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: It's a miracle, I'm writing again

AN: It's a miracle, I'm writing again! I need to finish this one off, but I'm already working on the next Xemsai (making up for lost time there). So here's my near-last chapter. Enjoy.

The apartment looked so strange to Saïx now. Everything somehow seemed out of place, and he felt like it was no longer his home. He supposed he was meant to feel that way, and continued to take everything in one last time. Saïx sighed heavily as he sat down to stroke his cat. The poor little ball of fluff had no idea that he was going to be orphaned. It seemed weird that Saïx felt slightly relieved. Soon, it was all going to be over. There would be no threat to his friends and family to constantly haunt his mind, and no stupid games to ruin his life. Everything would all go away, and everyone would eventually find life returning to how it used to be. Everyone would be happy again, and to Saïx, that was definitely something worth dying for.

It's a shame that this is how it's going to end, Sax thought as he stood up. Time for him to face the music. He was not running away. He refused to think that he was running away. He had no other choice. If after days of staying at home could only lead him to this, then this was the only solution…right? There was no other way he could find out of this. Saïx shook as he walked to the kitchen. He felt so weak and dizzy, like he was going to pass out at any given second. Turning back, he saw the small piece of paper with his last requests laid out on his desk. Saïx turned away from it quickly, ashamed that even his death was a lie. He just did not have it in him to tell the truth; he could not face the fact that he would die and everyone would just think that he was a lunatic. Instead, he blamed his suicide on this make believe illness which he had developed. But some things were better left unsaid. This game would be a secret which Saïx would take to the grave with him. It was something that he did not fully understand, even though the rules were simple. There had to be a reason why Satan picked him; there had to be a reason why he did not just take away everything Saïx had and watch him burn. There had to be a reason for everything, Zexion had taught him that much. But maybe this time, he was wrong. Saïx had found the exception which proved the rule. He felt angry that he was never going to understand why he was going to die.

Continuing through to his small yet comfortable kitchen, Saïx felt sick. Did all suicide victims feel like this? Was it just nerves, or was someone trying to tell him not to do it? Anything was possible. That was the message that Saïx had tried to portray during his life. He knew some people would never accept it, but others did, so he was not a total failure. He had learned to keep his mind open to everything, even if it sounded ridiculous, because it could just come true. His once perfect life had been turned upside down by a force that most people believed not to exist. It was something he would not wish upon anybody, because no person on Earth deserves to watch their world fall apart before their eyes. It was too late for Saïx; he had experienced everything he would have otherwise thought impossible. He had been given the power to save the lives of those he held dear to him, and at the same time, he had sacrificed his freedom. He gave himself a few minutes to reflect everything he had ever done: the people he had met, the places he had seen, the things he had done. Yet he still felt incomplete. There were people he was never going to meet, places he was never going to see, and things he was never going to do. Once, he had his life all planned out. How he was going to become this and see the world at every chance he got. And he did, to certain extend. The more Saïx thought about it, the more he realised that he had lived a good life. He smiled slightly at that thought. His life had not been a waste of time and resources. He had not just sat there and watched the world pass him by. Saïx had gotten out there and made his time worthwhile. Never afraid too get his hands dirty, and never afraid of taking a few risks. After all, what was life without taking a chance every now and then?

Saïx picked up one of the kitchen knives, holding it tightly in his hand. It had never seemed so beautiful before; the way the sunlight reflected off the blade, the smooth blackness of the handle in contrast to glistening sliver. It seemed life a work of art, when before, it had just been a lethal weapon or a cooking utensil. It was amazing how a person's mood could change their views on the world. Everything that Saïx had just gone past without taking a second glance at seemed like something wonderful. Yes, there were wars. Yes, there was poverty. The world was not perfect, but it was still incredible. Maybe one day, everything would iron itself out. Then, the world would be perfect. Unfortunately, Saïx would not be there when that day came. But it was something for everyone who was still living to think about. It was a small hope for those who needed something to hold onto. It was a shame that Saïx had all these views and no one to share them with. He should have written them down; he knew Xemnas would think they were beautiful. But he hadn't the time. No more delays and no more excuses. It was now or never.

The knife continued to glisten as Saïx closed his eyes. His hand shook violently as he raised the blade to his skin. It was suddenly so hard to breathe. He was scared, and he admitted it. Pushing the thought of what he was about to do away, he considered how relieved he would be once it was over it. There was no reason to be afraid; he was going to be free. He could finally meet his father. Little by little, he applied more pressure to the knife. He could feel the cold metal of the blade against his neck. When the tip of the knife felt as if it was going to pierce through his skin, he positioned it so that he could draw it across that side of his throat. This was it. Taking in a final breath, Saïx whispered his last words. Simple, yet powerful.

"I regret nothing."

It all happened so fast. The blade seemed to run itself across his delicate flesh, as if it wanted to help him. Opening his eyes abruptly, Saïx's hand seemed to lose the strength to even hold the knife. It fell, the metal clanking on the tiled floor, the blood running small rivers throughout it and gathering in small pools on by Saïx's feet. He looked down. The blood was a deep red, flowing relentlessly from where his skin had been torn open. Saïx did nothing to stop the bleeding, or to hold himself up. He fell elegantly backwards onto the stone cold floor. He could feel his strength slipping away, and the pain in his throat disappearing. His head felt like air, and Saïx could no longer move. He shut his eyes once more, welcoming his fate. He knew he was dying. And he felt relieved, just like he knew he would. Nothing could reach him now, he was invincible. Slowly, his heart and lungs began to fail him. Saïx's breathing slowed, until it finally ceased. His heart beat for the last time. Lying on his kitchen floor, surrounded by blood, he had ended the game.

Saïx opened his eyes; was he dead? He had to be; he had slit his throat. He bled to death, so of course he was not still alive. So why was he breathing, and why was there no blood? Panicking, Saïx looked around frantically. The knife was still in its holder, along with all the others. They were all clean. Running to a mirror, Saïx gasped in total shock at his appearance. It was just as it was the last time he saw himself; without the deep gash in his neck. Putting a hand to his chest, he realised his heart was once again beating. Saïx spun round (almost falling over in the process) as a sarcastic and rather displeased voice boomed from behind him.

"Congratulations, smartass. You won."


	12. Chapter 12 The End

AN: THE END

AN: THE END!! Its chapter Larxene and the end of the story. I never thought I'd get around to it! So, without further ado, I give you the grand finale. Thanks for reading! -

Saïx stared in confusion at the giant beast who was once again sitting in front of him. Only then did it occur to him how strange it was that he was no longer bothered by Satan randomly appearing to him.

"What do you mean?" Satan sighed, clearly annoyed by his loss.

"Nobody ever asks if there's a way out! Honestly, you're all idiots! You got rid of yourself before the others could ditch you, therefore, you won." Sax had no idea how that made sense, but he nodded anyway. What he thought was supposed to happen was actually his way out. He asked what happened now, seeing as he had beaten Satan at his own game (that last part felt really good when he said it out loud).

"Well, wise guy, you did beat me. So I have to leave you and your friends alone. Forever." Satan mumbled the last word, but it was still loud enough for Saïx to hear. He could not believe it. It really was over. Forget there being a light at the end of the tunnel; Saïx was out of it completely. He smiled broadly at his victory. He had every reason to be happy. Satan groaned at the idea of happiness.

"I'll give you this, pretty boy: you're the first person in 2000 years to beat this." And with that, the demon vanished, never to be seen by Saïx's eyes again. The bluenette giggled happily as he stared at the mirror. That scar would be there forever, but that was something he could live with. Before, it was a reminder of his impending doom. Now, it was a sign of how he beat one of the most powerful forces known to man. Saïx looked up at the clock. 5:15. He had one hour and forty-five minutes to get to work. Not that anyone expected him to be there, but he wanted to go. That day was the beginning of the rest of his life.

Saïx felt extremely clean and new after that weight had been lifted from his shoulders (and that shower helped with that as well), so he did not care at all about having to wear his uniform and even decided to walk to work that day. He took in everything he saw; and never had the dismal grey buildings and crowds of people that made up the city seemed so alive. Everyone he walked past had a different story, some of which would have happy endings, others not so lucky. Saïx just felt satisfied to be one of those who were destined to have a happy ending. But he would never take anything for granted again. As he ad told himself and others so many times: anything was possible. And his story had only proven it.

Xaldin and Luxord were standing by the entrance of the zoo, messing around with some birds of prey. They lost all interest in the birds, however, when Saïx smiled and wished them a good morning before continuing into the zoo. Both hadn't a clue what was going on.

"What's gotten into him?"  
"I dunno, mate. But he's gotten his spark back, and that's something." Luxord then turned back to his animal, taking Saïx's good mood as a sign that everything was going to be okay. Two down, ten to go, Saïx tallied mentally as he bounded into the heart of the zoo. He noticed Demyx, standing alone (for once), drinking coffee. He had a lot of things with him, so he was probably waiting for someone. Most likely Xigbar. Saïx crept silently around until he was behind Demyx, then covered the boy's eyes with both of his hands and asked him to guess who it was. Demyx would have guessed right away, but Saïx ad distorted his voice, so it was impossible to tell it was him.

"Roxas." Saïx told him to guess again. Demyx paused to think.

"Marluxia." Again, Saïx told him it was wrong and to guess again. Demyx was beginning to get a bit annoyed by this person, for all he knew, it was a total stranger. He sighed in slight annoyance, claiming to give in. Saïx removed his hands and Demyx looked around at his, staring in disbelief.  
"You…what!? You told Luxy and Xem and Zex that you….but you sad you're gonna die…huh!?" Demyx threw himself down onto a bench, extremely confused. Saïx laughed and shook his head at the boy. He forgot just how easy it was to completely lose him. Xemnas wandered towards them, wondering why Demyx was not working where the hell Xigbar had gotten to. That man was always just disappearing, which could be very annoying. However, seeing Saïx stopped him dead in his tracks. He had not seen the man so happy since they first started going out. He was shocked to see him, but was thrilled nonetheless. He almost ran to Saïx, no longer caring what Demyx was doing or where Xigbar had gone. The man he loved was his first priority. Saïx saw him, and felt his smile grow (if that was even possible). He could finally tell Xemnas that everything had been sorted out; that he was okay now.

Saïx walked up to greet him, glad to see that Xemnas still cared. The silver-haired man grabbed Saïx the second he was close enough and held him like he had a few nights ago. Saïx held him back, willing the moment never to end. Xemnas asked what he was doing at work and how he was feeling. Saïx pulled away slightly, so that he could see Xemnas' face. If Saïx had remembered something, it was how gorgeous the man was.

"They made a mistake, Xemmy. I'm not going to die, it's getting better!" He beamed, and for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Xemnas was happy to hear what Saïx had to say. Everything was finally looking up, not just for the, but for everyone. Demyx had heard what Saïx had said and had gone to tell everyone, which explained the small crowd surrounding Saïx and Xemnas (who was refusing to let go of him). Roxas, who had recently started work as an art teacher in a school near the zoo, asked jokily who was going to crowbar Xemnas off Saïx, Marluxia grabbed Vexen and squealed about how cute it all was, and the rest were just happy to have their friend back. Zexion just happened to be there, as he was trying to help Xemnas get over Saïx at the time, but even he could not help but smile at the scene.

"I'm going to go ahead and assume you don't need me anymore then?" Everyone laughed and Saïx reached over to ruffle Zexion's hair. The man screwed his face up and semi-glared at his friend, but soon joined in with everyone else and went back to clinging onto Lexaeus. Things were finally going back to normal.

It was Halloween, and Demyx (being the mental five-year-old he was), had demanded that everyone tell stories. Of course, Saïx had no trouble coming up with something. He explained about the game, about how the boy went mad and eventually killed himself. Sure, he had changed the ending, but ghost stories weren't supposed to have sweet little endings. Everyone sat in amazement at Saïx. Axel commented on how he seemed to know exactly what came next.

"Well, Axel. It was based on a true story. Obviously." Saïx joked sarcastically. Everyone laughed at the idea of everything that Saïx had said being true, and even he joined in. But the bluenette could not help but laugh at the fact that it was, in fact, a true story. He contentedly sat back and rested his head in the crook of Xemnas' neck. He smiled. The story was completely true, but the others never needed to know that.


End file.
